A/N: Long time no speak.
Working on rebooting "The Great Hunt" and trying to complete the Safi'Jiiva armor set on both of my Hunters is a lot of work.
Hopefully this chapter hasn't disappointed.
As usual, do read and review, would you kindly?
And keep it classy!
…
[Council Expeditionary Vessel CSV Book of Bravery]
Scotia took a sip from her tea, trying to calm her frazzled nerves from the pressure that had built up about halfway through the week. Four days had passed since the Discovery was sunk, and things had been hectic on the bridge, not the least of which was because the Praetorian Tonitrus-1 had been downed.
"Targon, what's the status on the communications blackout?" she asked.
"We're still trying to fix it," answered a green female Salarian, having taken the shift from the last comms operator since yesterday.
Scotia sighed in frustration; in order to make room for more survivors and emergency provisions without sacrificing the ability to keep them alive, the Armali frigate's lifeboat had deliberately sacrificed the ability to call for help via radio. That being said, the beacon should've been enough to signal for help.
The drones had recorded some extraordinary feats that had happened almost simultaneously as they watched the natives rescuing the survivors from titanic monsters in each of the regions they'd managed to locate. An armored being with a fancy-looking axe that transformed into a sword fighting off a large, green monster that apparently had the ability to nullify biotics; another with a rifle-spear combination and smaller animal companions that battled a flying creature that froze the air with every beat of its wings; and now, more recently, the one that fought off that hand grenade with wings responsible for destroying Tonitrus-1 in a gigantic fireball.
"Captain, I've got a new development!" announced Targon.
"Don't tell me another group of survivors are under attack," Scotia moaned, rubbing her temple with a free hand.
"No, though I'm getting a strange reading," answered the comms officer, "It looks like two of the beacons are moving."
Scotia set down her tea upon hearing that. "Bring it up on screen."
Up on the main screen was a map of the entire continent they were orbiting over. As the recon drones passed every corner of the landmass, they mapped out the entire area for the Bravery crew to get a general sense of where everyone was. Sure enough, two of the beacons were moving from the middle of the map, due south.
"Where is Tonitrus-2?" she asked.
"Currently at Tonitrus-1's campsite," Targon answered, "They're waiting for the go-ahead to go pick up the survivors there."
"They're cleared to go," replied Scotia.
Whatever Targon was going to say was cut off when she heard something at her desk. "Captain, I'm receiving some messy radio signals; it's from more survivors."
"Can you pinpoint it?"
"Hang on, let me check…" Targon drawled, rapidly typing keys, "Yes, it's somewhere in the desert."
"Clean up that signal, I want to hear what they're trying to say," Scotia ordered, "And get some drones in that area so that we know what we're getting into."
"Yes, ma'am," continued Targon, "Drones are in the desert…let me see now…"
The Salarian was speechless for a moment as she stared at the screen. "Captain, I've found out where the signal is coming from, and you are not going to believe it."
"Put it on screen!"
As ordered, the image found by the drone was there for all to see. Peeking out of the dunes was the aft of the Discovery, with a handful of people working on what looked like a beacon with an antenna and a microphone attached.
"We're getting a signal now," announced Targon, "I guess they're bouncing the signal off the drone."
"Keep that drone in the area!" Scotia ordered, "I want to know what they're saying."
"Done, coming through now."
"This is Taisa L'vana, calling from the aft of Discovery," came the voice of an Asari from the radio, "Does anyone read me?"
Targon worked quickly on her keyboard, as she spoke. "This is Targon Vas, comms officer on the Bravery, I've got the Captain on line for you."
"Taisa, this is Captain Rydia of the Bravery," said Scotia, settling in her seat, "Good to finally hear from a survivor."
"You're not the only one, Captain," replied Taisa, "We're just glad that one of the ships is still sailing. Are we the only ones to survive?"
"No, you're not the only ones to make it," admitted the captain, "Of the twelve lifeboats that ejected from the Discovery, only five made it out."
"By Athame…"
"Taisa, listen to me, we've had a pretty bad few days, so let's not make it any worse by panicking. Now tell me, how many survivors are with you?"
"Uh, we started off with all eighteen seats filled in," began Taisa, "We wound up losing one."
Taisa began her tale, speaking of a female alien that they'd encountered, apparently having tried to search the ship for goods. One of the survivors among them had noticed that she spoke a language eerily similar to Old Thessian…she was able to pull much of the language from a meld, but still not enough for complete communication. And just in time too, as their failed attempt to jury-rig a radio from the beacon had evidently angered a large monster with giant horns, and got a Turian killed; they tried to fight back, even using a Brumak to try and gun the thing down. In the end, they had enlisted the alien's help in taking down the creature, and she succeeded in actually killing the horned monster with nothing but a sword and a knife.
"And where is this alien now?" asked Scotia.
"She's currently in the hangar with us, carving up the monster," answered Taisa, "Though she's being particularly picky about what she's cutting up."
There were many thoughts on Scotia's mind as to what was going on. It was one thing to see it from a distance, but to hear a firsthand account of these aliens taking down megafauna with such small and primitive weaponry had filled her with some degree of skepticism. If the situation weren't so dire, and there weren't survivors that needed help, she was sure she would have wanted to see it for herself. However, all other thoughts were trumped by an idea she'd had.
"What's the status of the vehicle bay?"
"I'm not gonna lie, Captain, more than half of our vehicles are broken; though our Praetorians are still intact."
"Do you have anyone that can pilot them?"
"I'm not as good as our regular pilots, but I can get the bird flying. Why?"
"We have survivors camped out in a locale to the north of you," explained Scotia, "They're in need of a pickup, and we've lost one of our Praetorians. It looks like two of the beacons are en route to an area southwards of your position. We're planning on picking you guys up, while you pick up those survivors; after that, we'll meet up with the others at the same location."
"Will do, ma'am. Taisa L'vana, out!"
With that end taken care of, Scotia turned her attention to her bridge. "Targon, get word to Tonitrus-2; after they pick up the survivors, they are to meet up with us at the rally point to the south."
"Yes ma'am."
Scotia turned on her omni-tool, sending word to the "Steg, I want the bay cleared for us to rescue the survivors, and get a tracker ready."
…
[Unregistered Batarian Corvette Implacable, Bridge]
The transfer into Sector X was far more forceful than any other Relay Jatha had experienced.
She waited patiently, watching as that ambitious buffoon of a captain reoriented himself in his seat.
"Status report!" Zak'kat shouted.
"Systems re-initializing," replied a technician, "Done! We've got power back on!"
"Where are we?" asked the captain.
"Unknown," answered the navigator, "We don't have a star chart for this area…and no relay in the area."
All eyes were on the navigator. "Come again?" asked Zak'kat.
"It's just as I've said, captain; there's no Mass Relay in this area."
"Scan it again!"
"Nothing, sir!" the navigator confirmed, "We have no immediate way of going back."
Drowning out Zak'kat's tirade, the idea that there was no going home had struck Jatha hard. She didn't doubt for a moment the despair that everyone felt upon hearing the news. The idea that she was not going to see her family again was already a blow to her composure.
After nearly a minute of angered ranting, Zak'kat took a calming breath, rubbing his temples as he spoke. "Do we at least have a trail on the expedition?"
"No sir," replied the Navigator, "But our sensor suite should be able to pick them up from lightyears away. I doubt they'd have gone too far."
The captain nodded in resignation. "Find them, I'll be in my cabin. If we locate them, alert me."
"Aye aye, captain."
Zak'kat strode out of his chair, no doubt to drown his sorrows in something harder than ale…not that she could blame him. She'd known that a new colony was big on the Shamanists' agenda; to start their own nation far away from Hegemony space, and the shadow war they'd started with the Council was their first step to redemption. That she would not be able to send word back was a setback of immeasurable proportions, though in the case of the captain, it was mostly due to the idea of not being able to come back ruined his chances at advancing in the Hegemony. To her, it meant not being able to go home to her family…never seeing her husband and children again.
On the other hand, she still needed to learn more about Sector X before she could even send word back…which put her in a position to take initiative to claim a stake for the Shamanists' new home when the time came. The Hegemony would, for the sake of appearances, deny that the Implacable was even their ship to begin with, especially considering that the good captain had 'gone rogue a long time ago.' Technically true, considering that everyone in HighCom knew of Zak'kat's ambitions for advancement, which meant that nobody would shed a tear for his death.
If Jatha was going to be trapped in a place she could not come home from, she was at least going to make a future home for her people in this new, unexplored galaxy.
…
[Astera, several days later…]
Price looked at the map on the table with the remaining heads of the Fleets waiting for the arrival of their guests.
It'd been almost a week since the falling stars had made themselves known in the sky, and it was hectic, to say the least. He'd received written reports by Mernos from all five of the main locales of the New World that contact had been made with strange beings that had come from what appeared to be gigantic bullets fired from massive cannons. Each of them had run afoul of the apex creatures that would have been found in each territory, most notable of which being the Bazelgeuse and Deviljho that Sam Shepard and Nessus had encountered respectively.
According to the reports, they were being escorted to Astera with great haste, hoping to bring the apparent survivors to safety before discussing what to do next. Every report stated that the survivors would be coming in from all corners of the New World and they had injured members with them, which meant that medical attention would be needed. For that reason, Doctor Ayumi and her Felyne medical team were called to set up a triage.
All thoughts had come to a halt when Price heard a commotion going on in the tradeyard, quickly noting many Hunters and crewmembers looking up at the sky. As he scanned the horizon, he quickly noted the presence of a very busy skyline. To the west, he saw a large, complicated flying machine landing outside the gates, slowly opening to allow its passengers to disembark. To the north, the Third Fleet, waiting to drop off their passengers while the Blood-Sun passed it to weigh anchor at the docks. Eastward, he saw two more flying machines landing on the eastern end, one on a higher elevation than the other.
At the head of the group entering from the west was Sam Shepard, striding into Astera with a trio of blue women in strange suits of armor accompanying him. They were unlike anything he'd ever seen before, having a very human-like appearance with what appeared to be swept-back tentacles instead of hair on their heads.
Gaia and Saffioti landed in Astera on Mernos from the Third Fleet's base, giving instructions to the Felyne medics that were on standby. Given that the survivors from the Coral Highlands had encountered a Legiana, it was a given that they did not want to risk further injuring anyone that was still alive. For that, medical attention would be given to anyone that was still on the ship. They were accompanied by a woman in a hood.
Anderson and his crew disembarked from the Blood-Sun walking towards Price, with the handful of survivors they'd rescued from the Rotten Vale. Among them were two more blue women, but they were also joined by a tall, almost stick-like, reptilian creature with two horns, one intact the other broken on its head, and large, darkened eyes.
Looking to the East, Price saw the gates opening to allow Nessus passage, along with a troop of larger, heavier reptiles with humps on their backs walking towards the escalator system next to the workshop. From what he could see, these reptiles were clad in heavy armor, and equipped with smaller bowguns. At the same time, Maya Shepard entered Astera's east side at the ground-level, accompanied by two blue women along with an avian creature with face paint.
The five of them walked towards Price with deliberate strides with their guests. "Is everyone all right?" he asked, looking at the gathering before him with a welcoming smile.
"We're fine, Commander Price," answered Sam, looking around at the gathered Hunters and higher-ups, "Though it looks like I'm not the only one that encountered…guests."
Turning to regard his guests, Price noted that two of the blue women stood at the head of the group, with a younger member of their people next to them. "Welcome, strangers, to our settlement of Astera," he introduced, "I am Commander Price, leader of the Research Commission. With me are the heads of the Five Fleets, and our most esteemed Hunters."
The younger blue woman spoke to the apparent leaders of the expedition, who quickly returned to regard Price with a sincere bow from the waist. "Our leaders, Rydia Scotia and her sister Rydia Saria thank you graciously for your kindness, Price Commander. I am T'Soni Liara, a…student of history; I shall speak for our leaders."
"I can only imagine the ordeals you and your people have been through, but there is something we need to know. Nearly a week ago, there was a bright explosion in the sky, followed by five stars falling from it; did you have anything to do with it?"
Liara conferred with her leaders, speaking in a lyrical language that sounded like she and her leaders were singing. After nodding in assent, she turned to regard Price. "Yes Commander, the falling stars were lifeboats; one of our ships had sunk."
"Lifeboats?" Price parroted, disbelief in his tone.
"Yes."
In all his years of living, he'd never seen a ship sink as spectacularly as what everyone had witnessed nearly a week ago. He also understood the tragedy that came whenever a ship sank as his tone took on a sympathetic tone. "Did anyone survive?"
"It is a long story, commander."
"We have the time," replied Price, "Start from the beginning."
There was so much to take in, but Price was patient enough to take in the tale that was woven by the guests. Thankfully, one of the younger blue women named Liara was there to translate; it wasn't a perfect translation, but she was able to speak well enough. After introducing her captain Saria and her twin sister, Scotia; the things the sisters spoke of were nothing short of interesting…titanic ships that could sail the stars, and an entire community of beings like herself and quite a few of the other beings he'd seen walking around in Astera led by a "Citadel Council." According to what they said, the twins had begged their council for years to be allowed to explore the stars they had found themselves in; for their efforts, they were allowed to form the Athame Initiative and given two retrofitted warships to explore the stars beyond what they called "Relay X" which led them to this very world.
Douglas, the Analytics Director, was quick to ask for proof…of which Price was in agreement. Liara had relayed their request for proof to the captains, and the accompanying beings with them; the gathering of beings looked to each other, speaking in different tongues as they seemed to discuss their decision. After a few minutes of discussion, the beings nodded in agreement; each of them raised their left arms, creating a gauntlet of orange light around them before pressing on small squares. The higher-ups of Astera saw the different worlds each of the beings came from, and were told the names of their respective species: Saria, Scotia, and Liara were of a race called the 'Asari' and their people hailed from a world called 'Thessia.'
One after the other, everyone saw the other worlds of the different species that participated in the expedition. The armored reptile Urdnot Wrex identified his people as the Krogan, and their homeworld as Tuchanka while the slim reptile Jondum Bau and the Salarians were from the jungle planet Sur'Kesh. Tali'Zorah Vas Neema and her Quarian engineers were originally from Rannoch, while Vetra Nyx's people, the militaristic bird-people known as the Turians came from Palaven. Thane Krios and his Drell scouts originally hailed from Rakhana, but found a new home in the ocean world of Kahje.
The image of so many worlds to explore had filled everyone's minds, and Price was no exception; but before the more excitable scientists could ask for more information, Price redirected his line of questioning to the commotion that had taken place nearly a week ago. The twins were forthcoming in revealing that it was because of an object that sped towards them, leaving a bright red trail behind it; it was moving too fast for them to evade, forcing both ships to turn all their guns on the object, trying to shoot it down. The object was unfazed by the bullets and cannonballs fired at it as it bypassed Discovery's shields and hit a fuel tank, causing an explosion that sheared the ship in half. For the next four days or so, the survivors of the Discovery had struggled to survive…and according to Saria, only five of the twelve lifeboats managed to make it off.
"…and that is how we've arrived at this point." Liara finished.
Price let out a sympathetic sigh. "You have my deepest sympathies; those first four days can't have been easy."
Captain Scotia spoke in the lyrical language of her people. "They have not, Price Commander," Liara translated, "It is only thanks to these…Hunters that we have survived. If not for them, we would have been eaten."
"We're glad to have them, but one thing concerns me," Price asked, turning to regard the Chief Ecologist, "Do we have any idea what sank the Book of Discovery?"
"I can only surmise that they have encountered an Elder Dragon," replied the diminutive Wyverian, ignoring the attention that was leveled in his direction in favor of poring through his books.
"I'm sorry, but leader Scotia is asking this," Liara interrupted, "What is an 'Elder Dragon?'"
"Creatures of great power," answered the Chief Ecologist, "Such is their power that they can potentially destroy the world outright."
Looking at the gathering of beings at the desk, Price could see a number of skeptical faces on the leaders. Jondum Bau spoke up, his voice speedy. "Jondum Bau asks how such a thing is possible," Liara translated.
"Around here, there are creatures that would defy what you may think is possible," Price answered, "Creatures such as the Elder Dragons are so powerful that at the very least, they are capable of altering the environment around them." He then turned his attention back to the Chief Ecologist. "Do we know which Elder Dragon it was?"
"From their description of a bright red trail, and the way the object was flying at high speeds, it can only be a Valstrax."
"What is this 'Valstrax' you speak of?" Liara asked.
"Like many Elder Dragons, the Valstrax is a large, quadrupedal creature with wings," explained the old Wyverian, "It is covered in silvery scales that reduce drag as it soars through the sky, leaving a bloody red trail of energy behind from its wings. Truly a remarkable specimen."
"A rarity indeed," Price acknowledged, "But going back to the situation at hand, whatever happened to the part of Discovery you managed to recover?"
"It is currently in the stars, being carried by Bravery," explained Liara.
Having had all the answers he needed for the moment, Price stroked his beard in thought. "So what happens now?"
It took a moment for Liara to confer with her leaders before she turned her attention back to Price. "We don't know," she admitted, "Normally by Council Law, we would have waited for your people to sail the stars before officially meeting you, but the Discovery's destruction and our inability to find a way home forced our hand. With your permission, we'd like to settle near your home."
"Commander, we need to send word back to the Guild," Douglas added, "They need to know what is going on."
"Then send word to the Guild to inform them of this development," Price ordered, turning his attention back to the Rydia sisters, "Until then, you will find refuge in our borders; and while we're on the subject, we will discuss the housing arrangements for your expedition."
…
[Unknown Location]
/Platform # 65032
/Mission parameters:
/-Enter Relay X…Status: -Complete-
/-Infiltrate Unregistered Batarian Corvette "Implacable"…Status: -Complete-
/-Remain undetected to all Organic expedition forces…Status: -Ongoing-
/-Investigate Sector X…Status: -Ongoing-
/-Report to Consensus…Status: -Ongoing-
/Data Log:
/Upon receiving orders from Consensus, this platform followed unregistered Batarian Corvette "Implacable" into Relay X using Geth stealth ship.
/Jump initiated. Scans sent to register surroundings; no matches, no Element Zero signatures. Hypothesis: this platform has successfully entered Sector X.
/Secure tight-beam communique attempted, recipient is Consensus. No response. Conclusion: Distance between Citadel Space and Sector X too far for even QEC.
/Pings sent to locate relay to exit: none found.
/Mission to report to consensus still ongoing. Must find Exit relay.
/Mission parameters to investigate Sector X have not changed. Will compile more data for Consensus.
/Geth will build our own future.
/ -End of Data log-
…
[Astera, Cliff Face]
The atmosphere of the settlement was busy as the various construction crews went to work setting up the neighboring settlement to accommodate the Athame Initiative's expedition. Trees were cut down to clear a patch of ground for Bravery to lower her sister ship onto, as well as to create a landing pad for her. Nothing was wasted, as every small bit of lumber that was cut down was used by the Second Fleet to make planks in preparation for building the new settlement. To aid in this endeavor, lumber-felling tools and demolition charges were fabricated from the Discovery and provided to anyone that was still healthy enough for the job, one that many Krogans were more than happy to help expedite.
Within a week, enough timber was cleared to give the Bravery ample room to lower the aft of Discovery onto the cleared patch of land and to give her room to land. Nothing further would be done until Price received word from the Guild as to their next move; until then, the shipwreck would be used as a temporary apartment complex. In the meantime, prefabricated communal cabins were being drawn up to house the survivors, as well as plans to cut up the Discovery's major working compartments to spread them around.
As infrastructure and architecture were beyond her understanding, Tali simply took the opportunity to take in the sights of Astera. She could not help but notice how primitive their technology was…and yet, at the same time, it was ingenious how they were able to harness the waterfall to make everything work in this settlement. From irrigating the simple toilets she'd managed to catch a glimpse of, to driving the complicated lift system that allowed everyone to bypass the many stairs that seemed to criss-cross up and down the cliff face, everything was powered by gravity and water.
Leaning against the railing, she could see the people walking about and living their lives did so with little concern about the beasts that lurked in the wilderness outside the fences of the research base. While there were seemingly ordinary people doing work, Tali also saw quite a few of these 'hyoo-mahns' that were walking about in strange suits of armor, while wielding weapons that seemed to be too large for practical use. Some suits were made completely of some unknown metal, others seemed to incorporate organic materials in their construction, though everyone seemed to have mix-and-matched sets of armor with varying combinations of metal pieces, scales, and bone.
"How are things?" asked a voice that startled Tali. She turned to find Liara standing next her.
"Keelah! Don't do that!" Tali admonished.
"Sorry, it's just that I've seen you standing around, and figured you might have some time to talk."
"I just feel useless at the moment," admitted the Quarian machinist, "Put me in an engine room, and I'll make sure your ship will work properly for the entire trip; put me in the garage, and I'll treat all your vehicles as my babies; I'll even make sure you have better apps for your omni-tools just to be popular. But right now, there's more need for structural engineers and architects than a machinist."
"At least you have time to recuperate," Liara assured, "It feels good to be important, but sometimes it's also a curse."
On that note, Tali agreed; for the past week, Liara had been working with Tyla and Matriarch I'taka to update the translator app for the trade language of the humans…which was apparently very close to Old Thessian for some reason.
"I don't envy you," she said, nodding sympathetically, "How goes the translator update?"
"We're making good progress," Liara explained, "It helps that we have Old Thessian as a basis. Luckily, Matriarch I'taka and I have melded with a couple of Human volunteers to learn the language better."
"So how were you able to speak their language without a translator?"
At this, Liara had a wistful look in her eyes. "When I was younger, my mother gave me a book of Old Thessian love poems for my birthday. I wanted so much to learn what it was that the ancients were saying that I took a class on the language; one thing led to another, and I eventually found my passion in archaeology. And all because of a book of love poems."
"Strange how life takes us places we don't expect to go," Tali noted, "At the time the Rydia twins recruited me, I was working part-time in a garage to finance my Pilgrimage. I didn't expect to go on an expedition into a place where there's no going home…where one wrong move could cost us our lives."
"I don't think anyone could have foreseen such a thing happening," admitted Liara, "To be honest, this sounds like one of those issues of 'The Huntress' that I used to sneak away into my room when I was younger."
The two of them chuckled mirthfully, looking back down at the sprawling settlement beneath them.
Tali was interrupted from her thoughts when she heard a yowling further down the catwalk, and saw one of the furry little aliens she'd seen accompanying the human hunters waving at her with its paw. It spoke to Liara with a high-pitched nasal voice as it called her over. "We have to get going," Liara translated, "Word just got back from the Guild Headquarters. We have to meet Commander Price at the Tradeyard."
"We're going to have to take the stairs then," Tali suggested, "The lifts will probably be very busy."
As they followed the diminutive 'Felyne' down the catwalk, Tali's assertion was quickly proven when they noted that many people were lining up to use the primitive elevators to head for the tradeyard. The trip down was tedious, but it expedited the long lines of people that wanted to save their feet from the agony of multiple flights of stairs.
After a ten-minute walk to the Tradeyard, Tali noted the number of people that were gathered around Commander Price as he stood in front of his large desk, with the Rydia Twins and both Matriarchs at the forefront. He looked among the gathering of natives and visitors, waiting for them to settle down as Liara walked up next to him to interpret his words. The second he was satisfied with the silence, he made his announcement; even though Tali didn't understand a word he'd said, she could feel the authority in his voice…it gave her the impression of a highly respected member of the Admiralty.
"Explorers of the Athame Initiative," Liara translated, "As you might have heard, we've received word from the Guild Headquarters. You have been allowed to settle in the New World with us, and you shall be honorably recognized as the Sixth Fleet."
At this, everyone present cheered until two of the pointy-eared people she'd heard were called 'wyverians' walked up to the dais with a rolled up piece of cloth in their arms. "In honor of our newly-founded friendship, we have made a new banner for you. With this, we welcome you to our world!"
The two wyverians unfurled the banner, showing a deep blue rectangular flag, divided in half horizontally by a wide, off-white band. At the top of the banner was the crest that consisted of an intricate, yet simple drawing of some kind of shield; at the bottom was an open book with a sword on one page and an eight-pointed compass star on the other.
"Official first contact will be made when Admiral Hackett arrives to perform his inspection," Liara continued, "After this, you will be allowed to visit all the major villages. In the meantime, we will help you establish your own base of operations, but that will not be all we are doing. We cannot, in good conscience, allow people to explore our wildlife without learning the necessary survival skills; for this, we offer to teach all combat-capable volunteers of your expedition how to use our weapons and techniques of the hunt.
"But for tonight, we shall celebrate our future relationship!"
Tali could feel the mirth in the air as everyone cheered.
In her eyes, the worst was over…things could only look up.
…
[Unknown Location, somewhere in Wildspire Waste]
Hungry…
It needed food…always needed it! It never had enough!
After eating that fuzzy hornhead in the fire-lands, it was hungry yet again…
It needed more food…
Ran to the sandy place; not as bad as the fire-lands, but no food!
No food! Not even weak, giant mud-fish!
It must eat!
Food!
It found black, burnt sand and a big hole in the ground. It found mounds in the sand near the hole…dug them up and ate the meat inside…tasted good, but still needed more.
ALWAYS NEEDS MORE!
Must move! Keep moving! Go where food is!
Must find something to eat for travel!
It found a round-shiny thing with blue light on the floor; don't know if it's food or not.
It bit in and swallowed it anyway.
Not tasty…taste bad, but better than nothing…time to find real food…
…
Codex
Draco
In many mythologies, none have captured the imagination like the Draco, a creature from Turian mythology.
Different native Turian tribes have their own stories involving the creature; some were playful symbols of ancient imperial rule and fortune, others were malevolent, greedy creatures. All accounts describe them as gigantic reptiles with impenetrable hides, spiked tails, deadly intelligence, and the ability to fly and breathe fire.
Such is its legacy that the Draco now lends its name to a class of ships fielded by the Hierarchy navy, and it is also emblazoned on the armor of the Digeris Blood Dracos.
…
A/N: …uh-oh…I don't think I need to tell readers what just happened at the end.
Anyway, as usual, give a warm round of applause to ravenking64 for being the beta-reader for this story.
Please PM or review to me if you have a character you want to show up with the following info:
Name:
Race: Human or Wyverian (They're the only races we see doing any active hunting)
Gender: No transgenders, please! I doubt Monster Hunter-verse has the materials necessary to even have transgenders.
Sexual Identity: Gay? Straight? Bi? Omni?
Age:
Height: In centimeters (please make it believable)
Weight: In kilograms
Body Type: Slim, Muscular?
Skin Color:
Eye Color:
Hair Color:
Notable Features: Tattoos, scars, amputations, etc.
Personality:
History: Just a little of what they've done before going to the New World, like what was the biggest monster they killed, or where they come from. That, and what they've been doing while in the New World.
Guild Status: Are they still active? If not, then what do they do now? Are they Guild Knights?
Handler: Do they answer to a Handler, or to a receptionist? If they answer to a Handler, give a brief description of them; name, gender, personality.
Hunter Rank: Are they Low- or High-ranked?
Equipment: Just what weapon they normally use, and the armor they're wearing
Knife: Describe the knife they carry (this is optional)
Palico Name: Name your Hunter's Palico
Palico Description: Describe the physical appearance; tail length, fur thickness, eye color, etc.
Palico Equipment: Describe the Palico's weapon, gear, and armor
Palico Personality: Describe the Palico's demeanor
Voiceover: Optional, but you can do Japanese or English.